A further goal of the IYC is to promote Women in chemistry. 2011 is the 100th anniversary of Marie Curie’s receipt of the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

Many events are planned throughout 2011 to celebrate chemistry. Many of the activities are aimed at catching the attention and imagination of the younger generation. In Canada a video contest has been launched for school students. The aim is to produce a short chemistry related You-Tube video. The prize is a $2500 scholarship for further education.

In the UK, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) announced the biggest global experiment which will take place on the 22nd June. Children across the world are encouraged to take part in an experiment into the properties and quality of water. More information can be found on the RSC website.

Further information of the events can be found on the RSC website and the IYC website (I have had some trouble accessing their website). Events are being organised worldwide in countries including India, Singapore, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, America, Canada and across Europe.

The dependence of pattern formation in hydrogels undergoing the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction on the gel size and shape is presented in a recent Soft Matter paper for an upcoming themed issue on Active Soft Matter.

The authors use both experimental and simulation approaches to validate their own theoretical model on the chemomechanical coupling in responsive gels.

In a recent communication, triterpenoids are used as scaffolds in supramolecular self-assembly and recognition. Conjugates of molecules based on glycyrrhetinic acid form dimers held together through 6-hydrogen bonding pairs. The supramolecular dimeric structure was able to recognise and encapsulate polar molecules in aprotic solvents through its suitably sized cavity.

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The question of ‘active’ or ‘passive’ mechanisms for red blood cell flickering (or vibratory motion), currently under debate, is investigated in a recent publication.

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are a useful model for understanding cell mechanics. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have recently examined the response of erythrocytes to external stress with the help of optical traps and high-speed video imaging.

To help develop metal binding molecules for nanoscale electronics, sensors, and biomedical devices, a team based in the USA has investigated the adsorption of amino acids and surfactants onto a gold surface. Using molecular dynamics simulations, the team investigated the mechanism and strength of the interactions. They say that the adsorption strength correlates with the degree of coordination of polarizable atoms (O, N, C) to multiple epitaxial sites, and therefore, the molecular size and geometry rather than the specific chemistry determine the adsorption energy.

Fancy knowing more? Read the article for free until 15th February 2011.

The crystallization behavior of colloidal cubes has been studied using tunable depletion interactions by a team at Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and New York University, USA. The team found that under certain conditions the cubes self-organize into crystals with a simple cubic symmetry, which is set by the size of the depletant.

Sam Safran has been a professor in the Department of Materials and Interfaces of the Weizmann Institute, Israel, since 1990. He also served as Vice President of the Weizmann Institute and Dean of its Graduate School. From 1980-1990 he was at the Exxon Corporate Research Labs where he worked on the theory of soft matter with a focus on the structure and phase behavior of oil-water-surfactant dispersions. His recent research interests have extended soft matter concepts to treat synthetic and biological membranes and cells.

Jian Ping Gong is a professor of the Faculty of Advanced Life Science at Hokkaido University, Japan. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in physics from Zhejiang University, China, and received her Master’s degree in polymer science from Ibaraki University, Japan. She studied high Tc superconductors at Tokyo Institute of Technology where she gained her Doctor of Engineering. She joined the faculty at the Hokkaido University in 1993, where she received her Doctor of Science. Gong presently is concentrating on the research of novel hydrogels with high mechanical performances, such as high toughness, low surface friction, shock-absorbing, self-healing, and the application of the hydrogels as bio-tissues.